Chapter Eighty-Six: The System Has Reached Its Rebellious Phase

The song you are going to perform on stage is this one. I’ve already marked the part you need to sing. Try it first.

Chen Fang handed Wang Situ the manuscript of the song.

The instant Wang Situ saw it, her eyes were fixed to the page and would not move.

Seeing this, Chen Fang smiled faintly.

In truth, Wang Situ was a very simple person. She truly loved singing. The joy she felt upon seeing a good song was impossible to hide.

That was precisely why Chen Fang thought she reminded him of someone from the past.

Chen Fang did not go into the inner recording booth. Instead, he stayed outside, adjusting the console.

He had already sung all day, and his throat was somewhat overworked.

Besides, Chen Fang knew this song far too well; after a few rounds of practice, it would be ready for the stage.

What mattered now was Wang Situ’s rehearsal.

“Ready?”

Chen Fang spoke into the microphone.

Inside the inner booth, Wang Situ put on her soundproof headphones. In her ears, there was only Chen Fang’s voice.

She placed the score on the stand and nodded. “Ready.”

“Sing it a cappella first.”

Chen Fang gestured for her to begin.

After briefly familiarizing herself with the score, Wang Situ began to sing without accompaniment.

But before long, Chen Fang interrupted her.

The melody was correct.

After all, singing while looking at the score was like having the answer placed right before you; it was not difficult.

But Wang Situ’s voice and emotion were off.

The female part of this song needed to be soaring and bright. Wang Situ’s tone was too flat, lacking the feeling of the original singer.

Chen Fang was extremely demanding.

Of course, that sternness had formed back when he ran a company on Earth.

Chen Fang could allow the artists under his company to compete by any means, including some unfair and vicious tactics. In the entertainment world, only those who survived mattered; no one cared about the process.

But once you had pushed the others down, you had to produce the corresponding performance to satisfy Chen Fang.

If you were trash but managed to suppress truly outstanding artists, that was absolutely unacceptable to Chen Fang.

For that reason, Chen Fang had always been strict with his artists.

Wang Situ had already sensed this.

From eight in the evening until two in the morning, she remained in the inner booth practicing the song. At the slightest flaw, Chen Fang would immediately stop her.

Of course, Chen Fang stayed with her the entire time.

For as long as Wang Situ practiced, Chen Fang stood watch.

Only after her voice grew slightly hoarse did Chen Fang end the day’s rehearsal.

“This manuscript is yours now.”

“Practice whenever you have time.”

Chen Fang and Wang Situ left the company building together.

It was two in the morning.

There was not a single pedestrian on the street, giving everything a lonely, desolate look.

Fortunately, before leaving work, Xi Yuanyuan had told the company’s security guard that someone was still in the recording booth and that the doors should not be locked tonight. Otherwise, Chen Fang and Wang Situ would have had to sleep at the company.

Summer nights were not cold.

At this hour, it was rather difficult to get a taxi.

But a taxi was the only option.

After moving into his new home, Chen Fang could only take the subway or the bus to get back, and it was already past midnight; the subway and buses had long been off duty.

Chen Fang waved a hand, preparing to leave.

“Chen Fang.”

Wang Situ spoke up.

Chen Fang turned back in confusion.

Wang Situ’s face was faintly red as she brushed aside the bangs over her forehead. “Not going to the hotel after all? Wouldn’t that be a waste?”

Chen Fang studied her with interest. “You seem to be looking forward to it?”

“I just think it would be a waste of money if we don’t go.”

Wang Situ was stubborn with her words.

Though in her heart, she really was looking forward to it.

At the very least, she did not dislike Chen Fang. In fact, being with him felt easy and comfortable.

“Next time, don’t spend money like that.”

“If I really wanted to sleep with you, I wouldn’t need you to book a room. I would have already done it.”

Chen Fang knew very well.

At most, Wang Situ only had a little fondness for him. It was nowhere near liking, much less love.

If he truly slept with Wang Situ, things would become troublesome later, because Wang Situ was a very simple and persistent girl. Once you slept with her, she would cling to you and refuse to leave.

Chen Fang feared that kind the most.

He still preferred sensible women.

The kind who knew to change positions when the time came.

The kind who would take their leave of their own accord after the storm had passed.

Of course, Ji Mei was not among those women.

After speaking, Chen Fang no longer hesitated and turned to leave.

Watching his back vanish at the end of the street, Wang Situ reluctantly withdrew her gaze.

The room had already been booked.

And by now it could not be canceled.

So even if Chen Fang did not go, Wang Situ would still have to spend the night in the hotel.

Chen Fang stood by the roadside. A breeze swept through his bangs, and if he had a cigarette clenched at the corner of his mouth, it would have been a world-famous painting.

“Damn it.”

“Getting a taxi at two in the morning is really hard!”

Chen Fang cursed under his breath.

He had already accepted the possibility of being fleeced badly, but he had never imagined that he might not even be able to get a car.

In a few more hours, day would break.

Suddenly, Chen Fang thought of a famous line: Have you ever seen Los Angeles at four in the morning?

He had not.

But he had seen Kyoto at two in the morning.

The ride-hailing app on his phone was still searching for nearby vehicles. While waiting, Chen Fang summoned the system in his mind.

“System, open a box.”

There was no response.

Chen Fang frowned slightly.

Where was the system?

He called out a few more times in his mind.

“Don’t tell me the system vanished?”

Chen Fang felt a little panicked.

Although that damn system could be infuriating and stingy at times, to be fair, this strongest entertainment system was still quite useful.

“System!”

“Get out here!”

Chen Fang roared.

The next second, an even more irritable voice rang out in his mind: “Are you fucking sick? It’s the middle of the night and you’re not sleeping—what the hell are you yelling for?”

The wake-up temper was quite fierce.

Chen Fang froze.

The system slept too?

The system felt that since it had followed Chen Fang, it had never enjoyed a single peaceful day.

“I didn’t know you were asleep. I just wanted to say: open a box.”

Chen Fang was somewhat embarrassed.

This was his first time transmigrating, and also his first time using a system.

Who would have thought the system needed sleep too?

“Opening box.”

“A bag of laundry powder.”

“Take it and get lost.”

The system’s perfunctory words echoed in Chen Fang’s mind. The next second, a bag of laundry powder appeared in his hand.

Chen Fang: ?

“System, didn’t we agree last time? From now on, whatever comes out of the box should have at least some connection to entertainment,” Chen Fang said, weighing the laundry powder in his hand. It was rather heavy.

“Take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, throw it away.” The system sounded impatient.

Chen Fang broke out in a sweat.

If the system were a person, it probably would have wanted to beat him to death.

Forget it.

Laundry powder it was.

Anyway, his luck with the boxes had been terrible lately. Nothing good ever came out, so laundry powder was no different from anything else.

Over this period, the best thing Chen Fang had drawn was yesterday’s Time Rewind Card, but that item card could not be used for the moment.

Chen Fang sighed.

At two in the morning in Kyoto, he stood alone by the roadside holding a bag of laundry powder.

“From now on, after midnight, try not to call the system.”

Chen Fang silently noted this down.